Todd Nash and Allison Myers advocated for change when they learned about the suicide rate among farmers and ranchers.

“We were seeing rates of suicide that were fairly high — I didn’t realize the natural resources community was as high as it was,” said Nash, a Wallowa County rancher who also serves at a county commissioner, is a former president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, and was elected in May to represent Oregon State Senate District 29.

Myers is the associate dean for Oregon State University Extension and engagement at the OSU College of Health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates are elevated in the industries of mining, construction, arts/entertainment/recreation, and agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting. The National Rural Health Association published a study that the suicide rate among farmers is 3.5 times higher than the general population.

The AgriStress Helpline, a crisis line dedicated to helping farmers and ranchers, launched in September 2023.

The helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The number is 833-897-2474, and users can call or text.

Nash encourages people to save the phone number into their contacts.

“It’s not an easy number to remember,” he said.

Nash and Myers rallied support for the helpline, and in June 2023 the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 955 to provide $300,000 for the OSU Foundation to create an endowment so the OSU Extension Service could establish a helpline, said Kaycee Headley, project manager for the AgriStress Helpline.

“Working with collaborators from very different backgrounds and areas of expertise to make change for health is meaningful,” Myers said. “Our partnership between the OCA and Cooperative Extension, rural philanthropy, and the health system is strong and we are pleased with our work together so far. There’s still much to be done, and we are glad to have Todd as a friend and partner.”

The helpline is part of the AgriSafe Network, which is available in 10 states — Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Connecticut, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.

Calls are confidential, but limited data shows that people in 18 of Oregon’s 36 counties have called the helpline.

“We think it’s doing what it’s supposed to do,” Nash said.

Headley said the people who answer helpline calls have the same training and credentials as those who staff the 988, and also have “understand the stressors that rural folks face” such as the current agriculture markets, diseases and natural disasters.

Calls to the helpline are answered in 30 seconds or less, and all callers are offered a follow up call the next day.

“The folks on the other end of the line are friendly, warm and caring,” Headley said.

The helpline is for anyone experiencing a crisis, as well as someone who is worried about a loved one.

Support

The initial $300,000 was “seed money,” Headley said, and interest from that amount, plus contributions from community partners, funds the helpline.

Donations are also accepted, and can be made at https://give.fororegonstate.org/PL1Uv3Fkug. In the dropdown menu, type “Rural Mental Health Fund” or “Rural Mental Health Endowment Fund.”

Or contact Andrew Norwood at 800-354-7281 or osufoundation@osufoundation.org.